The invention relates to a presence detection system used primarily in a vehicles such as an industrial pallet truck.
Industrial trucks, such as lift trucks, may include a cabin where an operator rides while driving the vehicle and may possibly include a fork lift for carrying loads. The floor in some lift trucks may be fitted with a presence pedal. The presence pedal is alternatively referred to as a “dead man switch”. The presence pedal or dead man switch disables certain truck operations when the operator is not in a normal operating position in the cabin. For example, the vehicle may not start or move until the operator stands on the presence pedal. This can be used as a safety feature that shuts off the vehicle if the operator happens to fall out of the lift truck cabin.
Current presence pedals currently extend up out of the floor of the pallet truck cabin. This creates a trip point for the operator and also make it more difficult for the operator to move around in the cabin. Current presence pedals extend up through an opening in the cabin floor. Water, dirt, and other debris can fall through this opening and may disrupt or damage equipment located underneath the floor of the cabin.
The present invention addresses this and other problems associated with the prior art.